“This is my neck of the woods that held me down since I was a young pup,” Kendrick Lamar said from the stage at Crypto.com Arena as he accepted Record of the Year for “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Grammy Awards. He was 37. He listed Los Angeles neighborhoods, his native Compton among them, and said he could not give enough thanks to the places he rolled around in since high school.
He singled out the areas hit hardest by the recent wildfires, “the people and the families out in the Palisades and Altadena.” Then he added: “This is a true testament that we continue to restore this city.”
Within minutes he was back at the microphone. The song, which took several lyrical jabs at Drake, also won Song of the Year. Lamar is the second rapper to take Record of the Year, after Childish Gambino won for “This Is America” in 2019.
“At the end of the day, there’s nothing more powerful than rap music,” Lamar said. “I don’t care what it is, we are the culture. It’s gonna always stay here and live forever.” He ended with a message to younger artists: “I just hope you respect the art form, that’s all.”
The wins came one week before his headlining set at the Super Bowl halftime show, E! News noted.
A new broadcast home
Separately, the Recording Academy announced on October 30, 2024, that the Grammys will return to ABC and stream on Hulu and Disney+ starting in 2027, under a ten-year deal. The 68th ceremony, held February 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena, was the last on CBS and Paramount+. It was the venue’s 23rd year hosting the show. Trevor Noah, a South African comedian, hosted for the sixth straight time and for the last.
Sources
- Grammys 2025: Kendrick Lamar Wins Big Ahead of Super Bowl Halftime Performance
- 68th Annual Grammy Awards
